Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Helene.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Helenexe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hinnerup, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely-flowering Kalanchoe cultivars with large flowers, attractive flower coloration and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made in Hinnerup, Denmark, of the Kalanchoe cultivar Tamana, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Kalanchoe cultivar Simone, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,238, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Kalanchoe was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Hinnerup, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal cuttings taken at Hinnerup, Denmark, by the Inventor, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Helene has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Helenexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Helenexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves.
3. Large light pink and red purple bi-colored flowers.
4. Excellent postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe differ from plants of the parent cultivars in plant size and petal coloration.